The Rio+20 Earth Summit

Speeding up the transition to a sustainable future at the Rio+20 Earth Summit

In June 2012, more than 150 presidents and prime ministers and thousands of other top leaders are expected to come to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The gathering will mark the 20th anniversary of the first historic Rio Earth Summit where governments pledged to take actions to protect the planet while addressing poverty and equity. Yet a generation later, the pressures on the planet continue to grow as do human numbers and needs.

The UN Secretary General has warned that we are running out of time. We do not need any more ineffective treaties and abstract plans of action. The NRDC has challenged the UN instead to make the Rio+20 Earth Summit different, indeed transformative. We want our leaders to come to ready to take action to speed the transition to a low-carbon green economy.

You can join NRDC in the Race-to-Rio as preparations for the June gathering become even more intense. Explore here and check back frequently for updates on how we can work together to assure that Rio+20 Earth Summit marks a real start towards a world we are proud to pass along to the next generation.

NRDC's Priorities: What We're Advocating for at the Earth Summit

Countries, corporations and communities must come to Rio to promise specific actions now to meet sustainability goals. The UN should deploy state-of-the-art information technology to enable citizens worldwide to ensure these promises are kept. We see these actions recorded on a "cloud of commitments as the major output of Rio+20.

Perverse subsidies, short-sighted investments and weak policies are driving global warming, putting toxics in our air and water, and locking the world into an unsustainable path. It's time for governments to wake up, and:

Phase out regressive and environmentally-harmful fossil fuel subsidies, such as those to the oil and gas industry.

Scale up renewable electricity.

Deploy energy efficiency, such as phasing out inefficient light-bulbs.

Reducing pollution, increasing efficiency and deploying clean energy can be valuable job creators, especially for the next generation of workers. At the Rio+20 Earth Summit, governments and corporations must:

Integrate environmental costs into national and corporate accounts.

Increase support for environmentally sustainable jobs training and education programs.

Sign up for NRDC's online newsletter

TAKE ACTION

Stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

In Canada's boreal forest, the Peace-Athabasca Delta is a haven for millions of migratory birds. It's no place for even more tar sands development, which is already poisoning the boreal forest's rivers and lakes.